Universal remote

ABSTRACT

A universal remote control is disclosed that is easy to operate in an environment where sight regarding the remote is limited. The keypad of the remote is arranged into a plurality of groupings based on their functionality. The plurality of groupings includes a grouping for a power button, a grouping for each different appliance, a grouping for support functions for the appliances, a grouping for navigation keys, a grouping for volume/channel keys a grouping for number keys and a grouping for device functions. The layout of the keypad of the remote into specific groupings allows the user to learn to operate the remote quickly and easily without having to look at the remote for guidance, i.e., by feel alone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/497,973, entitled “Universal Remote” and filedAug. 25, 2003, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of universal remote controlfor appliances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is now common practice to include a “multi-function” or “Universal”remote control (URC) hand held transmitter with many consumer products(also referred to herein as devices, apparatus or appliances) such astelevisions, video cassette recorders (VCRs), digital video disk players(DVDs), satellite receivers, compact disk players, and audio systems, toname a few. The advantage of URC's is that the consumer can control notonly the particular appliance with which it was sold (hereinafterreferred to as “first” appliance), but the consumer can use the samedevice to control any number of other appliances (hereinafter referredto as “different” appliance).

Because of the need to be able to control so many different appliances,i.e., TV, VCR, DVD, cable, satellite, stereo and others, it has becomecommon practice to provide one or more “soft” keys on the URC to selectthe device that is being addressed by the remote control at a particulartime. Each time such soft key is pressed, the URC is programmed totoggle between controlling each different appliance. In the case of onesuch soft key, if the URC is currently controlling the TV, pressing suchsoft key once may toggle the control to the VCR, whereas pressing ittwice may toggle it to the DVD. In the case of separate soft keys foreach type of appliance, the URC may have one soft key for toggling theURC to control the TV, and another soft key to toggle the URC to controla first VCR, and yet another to toggle the URC to control a second VCR,and so on.

Whether a single soft key is used to cause the URC to toggle betweencontrolling different appliances or one soft key is provided for eachtype of different appliance, the person using the URC may be operatingthe URC in an environment where sight regarding the remote is limited.Such environment may include a darkened room. In some cases, when theURC is operated in a darkened room the user may inadvertently press a TVsoft key rather than a VCR soft key, and become confused, frustrated andannoyed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a universal remote control that iseasy to operate in an environment where sight regarding the remote islimited. The keypad of the remote is arranged into a plurality ofgroupings based on their functionality. The plurality of groupingsincludes a grouping for a power button, a grouping for each differentappliance, a grouping for support functions for the appliances, agrouping for navigation keys, a grouping for volume/channel keys, agrouping for number keys and a grouping for device functions. The layoutof the keypad of the remote into specific groupings allows the user tolearn to operate the remote quickly and easily without having to look atthe remote for guidance, i.e., by feel alone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is hereinafter described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-1B depict a top view and side view of one embodiment of theuniversal remote control of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a universal remote control that iseasy to operate in an environment where sight regarding the remote islimited. More specifically it deals with the issue of operating saidremote in an environment where sight regarding the remote is limited,such as, for example, in a darkened room when watching TV.

This keypad of the universal remote control is designed to work with theoverall form of the device to allow the user to learn to use this remotequickly and easily. The end result being that the user may operatemultiple devices with this remote without having to look at the remotefor guidance, i.e., by feel alone.

All remotes in one way or another attempt to guide the user to easieroperation of the devices they control. Such is the point of the remotecontrol in the first place. They all place the buttons in a manner thatis believed provides the optimal location for end users operation.Additionally, the shape of the buttons may be used to tactilely guidethe user through the functions of the remote.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the keypad of the remote 1 is arranged into aplurality of groupings based on their functionality. The plurality ofgroupings includes at least a grouping for a power button 10, a groupingfor each different appliance 20, a grouping for support functions forthe appliances 30, a grouping for navigation keys 40, a grouping forvolume/channel keys 50, a grouping for number keys 60 and a grouping fordevice functions 70. The layout of the keypad of the remote 1 intospecific groupings allows the user to learn to operate the remotequickly and easily without having to look at the remote for guidance,i.e., by feel alone.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the functional purpose of the remote 1 is tostrategically place the hand (not shown) in the region 100 of the remoteso that the thumb will be in the best position to effectively and easilyreach the most often used keys of the remote. The keys themselves areseparated out into groupings 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 based on theirfunctionality or “zones.

A grouping for the power button 10 may be located in the top rightcorner of the remote 1. The power button grouping 10 typically containsonly one button having the function to turn on or off whichever devicemay currently be selected. The power button keypad 12 may be consideredthe single most important key on the remote 1 in terms of function. Forthis reason, the power button keypad 12 is the topmost key on the remote1 and is grouped by itself.

The power button keypad 12 may have, for example, a triangular shape byessentially mimicking an angled cut through the top of the remote. Themeaning behind the triangular shape is that the power button keypad 12appears as a physical part of the core case top form. A fittingdefinition for a button having a functionality that is at the core ofthe remote 1. Other shapes for the power button keypad 12, such as, forexample, square, round, oval and rectangular are also contemplated.

The power button keypad 12 may be positioned to the right of thecenterline representing the right hand corner of the remote 1. Suchpositioning is intended for ease of use by users that will be righthanded, however the power button keypad 12 may alternatively bepositioned to the left of the centerline for left handed users as well.

The power button keypad 12 is the largest single key on the remote 1.This serves two purposes. First, the power button keypad 12 is,visually, the most prominent key on the remote 1, since its function isthe most important to the remote 1. Second, the power button keypad 12is, tactilely, the most prominent key on the remote. The power buttonkeypad is the thinnest button on the remote (FIG. 1B). This promotes itsunity in the general form of the remote 1, both visually and tactilely,and also decreases the chance of accidentally actuating this key. Alongthe slanted side of the remote 1, the case top rolls down into theremote case. This gives the thumb a comfortable place to rest when thepower button keypad 12 is depressed. All of these features produce apower button keypad 12 that is unmistakable to the touch and easilydiscerned from the others by sight.

A grouping of keypads 20 for each different appliance may be locatednear the top center of the remote 1. The appliance keypads 20 arekeypads that are used to select individual components (e.g., VCRs, DVDplayers CD players, among others) or devices to let the remote talk tothose devices individually when selected. The appliance keypads 20 maybe considered the second most important functional grouping. As such,the appliance keypads 20 are the second grouping on the remote 1 fromtop to bottom. The appliance keypads 20 may have a boxy or rectangularshape, to provide a clear tactile outline for the user. For example,when there is an instance of multiple appliance keypads in a row theuser can, by the shape, easily tell where one button ends and the nextbutton begins. At the same time, this button shape provides a sense ofcontinuity. As in a matrix or grid, the linear sides allow the user tosweep along a series of buttons by feel and define them as a row. Once arow is defined the user can use this reference point to sweep up or downto locate additional functions while still retaining a sense of locationon the remote 1. The appliance keypads 20 may also have flat tops thatare parallel to the case top, and also assist in this functionality.

The appliance keypads 20 may optionally be accentuated by 45 degreebeveled edges. These edges may exist, for example, at the top right andlower left of all six buttons in this grouping. The beveled edgeprovides for a softer less “exact” feeling as the user moves their thumbfrom right to left. However the sharper corner in the upper left of thebutton provides for a positive feedback as the user moves their thumbfrom left to right. The purpose of this feature is to make the keys moredistinguishable from left to right rather that from right to left. Thisfeature is designed to counteract the natural tendency of theright-handed user to sweep the keys from right to left, and as thebuttons are ordered in importance from left to right. The appliancekeypads 20 may carry the extra bevel located at the bottom left todifferentiate them tactilely from any similarly shaped buttons locatedbelow them on the remote.

The appliance keypads 20 maybe arranged in for example, a pyramidstacking arrangement. The pyramidal stacking arrangement may beimplemented to provide a hierarchy for the devices they represent. Sucha hierarchy is derived based on which devices that are most interactedwith related to those whom are least interacted with. For example, themost used device is put at the top of the pyramid and is the only buttonin its row. The next two most used devices are placed in the row beneaththe first row. And lastly the three next most used devices are placed ina row of their own below the first two rows. The reading order standardof western civilization, left to right, top to bottom, is widely used inthis remote to denote the hierarchy of functions and the device keypyramid stacking exemplifies such. The appliance keypads 20 are not onlyordered from most important at the top but also from left to right aswell. Such an arrangement allows the user to intuitively locate andremember where specific appliance keypads are.

A grouping for support functions 30 for the appliances may be locatedjust below the appliance keypad grouping 20. Due to the wide variety ofdevice applications for the remote that may be called into service, itis important to have the remote support a variable function keystructure. The grouping for support function 30 may be defined with zerofunction keys, 1 function key, 4 function keys, 6 function keys, and 8function keys. By the strategic use of tooling procedures (pins formingthe button holes that can be removed or added) and graphics, thisgrouping area may be used to accommodate these needs while stillretaining symmetry and even visual weight. The support function keypads30 may also employ the use of a beveled upper right corner for thereasons mentioned above.

A grouping for navigation keys 40 may be located centrally on the remote1, just below the appliance support function keypads 30. The navigationkeys 40 include direction keys such as, for example, UP, DOWN, LEFT,RIGHT keys surrounding a center circular core OK/SELECT key. Thecircular core OK/SELECT key may be surrounded by satellite keys shapedas, for example, squares and oriented in a radial fashion using theOK/SELECT key as a point of origin. Such an orientation gives each ofthe satellite keys a different feel while still maintaining a uniformshape.

A grouping for volume/channel keys 50 may be located below the groupingof navigation keys 40 to facilitate the relationship of theses twogroupings. The volume/channel keys 50 may be rocker styled volume andchannel controls being logically placed in an orientation of up equals“+” (plus) and down equals “−” (negative). To differentiate which buttoncontrols the volume and which controls the channel two, mirrored “C”shaped buttons may be used. These shapes allow the user to feel the mostdramatic edges (upper left-bottom left for the left oriented Volumecontrol and upper right bottom right for the right oriented Channelcontrol). Additionally, volume “MUTE” and channel “GO BACK” keys may belocated at the apex point of their related Channel or Volume “C” shapedbuttons, creating a tactile triangle of related functionality.

A grouping for number keys 60 may be located below the grouping forvolume/channel keys 50. The grouping for number keys 60 may be arrangedusing the aforementioned beveled edge convention.

A grouping for device functions 70 may be located below the grouping forthe number keys 60. The device function keys 70 may have the traditionalkey layout for actuating, for example, “REVERSE”, “PLAY”, “FORWARD”,“RECORD”, “STOP”, and “PAUSE” functions associated with the variousappliances to be addressed. The device function keys 70 may include aprotective record bar located directly above, for example, the “RECORD”key and the beveled edges of the “RECORD” key and the “FORWARD” key. Theprotective record bar aids in preventing accidental recording makingthis button hard to actuate unless it is purposely done so. The bevelededges previously mentioned are applied to aid the user in navigatingthis zone tactilely.

Each of the key groupings 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 may have its ownbutton scale, proportion, and where required for emphasis, shape, so asto combat tactile confusion between the different groupings.Additionally, the general spacing between keypads within a group issmaller than spacing between different groups to assist the user indetecting, by feel as well as visually, the separate groupings. Also,the spacing makes the grouping of specific keypads more obvious andseparates the remote into smaller more visually digestible pieces.

The foregoing illustrates some of the possibilities for practicing theinvention. Many other embodiments are possible within the scope andspirit of the invention. It is, therefore, intended that the foregoingdescription be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and thatthe scope of the invention is given by the appended claims together withtheir full range of equivalents.

1. A universal remote control, comprising: a plurality keypads arrangedin a plurality of groupings based on functionality, wherein the shapeand location of the keypads in each grouping enable a user to operatethe universal remote control.
 2. The universal remote control of claim 1wherein the plurality of groupings are selected from the groupconsisting of a grouping for a power button, a grouping for eachdifferent appliance, a grouping for support functions for theappliances, a grouping for navigation keys, a grouping forvolume/channel keys a grouping for number keys and a grouping for devicefunctions.
 3. The universal remote control of claim 1 wherein keypadspacing between keypads within each grouping is smaller than keypadspacing between each of the plurality of groupings.
 4. The universalremote control of claim 1 wherein keypads in adjacent groupings havedifferent shapes.
 5. The universal remote control of claim 1 whereinkeypads in adjacent groupings have different sizes.
 6. A universalremote control system, comprising; at least one remotely controllableappliance; and a universal remote control, wherein the universal remotecontrol includes a plurality keypads arranged in a plurality ofgroupings based on functionality, wherein the shape and location of thekeypads in each grouping enable a user to operate the universal remotecontrol.
 7. The universal remote control system of claim 6 wherein theplurality of groupings are selected from the group consisting of agrouping for a power button, a grouping for each different appliance, agrouping for support functions for the appliances, a grouping fornavigation keys, a grouping for volume/channel keys a grouping fornumber keys and a grouping for device functions.
 8. The universal remotecontrol system of claim 6 wherein keypad spacing between keypads withineach grouping is smaller than keypad spacing between each of theplurality of groupings.
 9. The universal remote control system of claim6 wherein keypads in adjacent groupings have different shapes.
 10. Theuniversal remote control system of claim 6 wherein keypads in adjacentgroupings have different sizes.
 11. The universal remote control systemof claim 6 wherein the at least one remotely controllable appliance isselected from the group consisting of a television receiver, a videocassette recorder (VCRs), a digital video disk player (DVDs), asatellite receiver, a compact disk player, and an audio system.